Artest is a bigger ball-stopper than T-Mac (and this is evident from most games he has played, not just this one).
It just seems like while Yao is in the lineup there is more of a team concept vs when McGrady and Artest are in the lineup. Bill Worrell mentioned in the game against the Knicks about ball movement. I agree with Bill on that statement; when I see Ron and McGrady play they are more into the one on one game rather than passing the ball around. I applaud Rafer for calling himself and his teammates out after this loss. This was an unacceptable loss after they had almost a double digit lead in the 4th quarter. This reminds me of the Indiana game they blew in the 4th quarter at the Toyota Center. The Rockets players and coaches really need to re-evaluate their team offense and defense especially when Yao gets back into the lineup. Also, McGrady looks really slow out there is it just me LOL. Adelman needs to step up and let McGrady know that the coach is running the team and not him. Hopefully, they will turn it around soon!
It would help if Artest and McGrady would pass the ball once and a while. What happened to Brooks he had a pretty good game last night.
I think the only reason why they played them is that Yao was out and they needed a go to presence in the lineup.
I didn't get to watch the end of the game, but can somebody tell me why Barry, Wafer, and Brooks weren't in the game in the last 8 mins of the 4th qtr? The reason I ask is because the starters weren't shooting well.
Maybe try not having Artest and McGrady in at the same time. Pair them off, play Tmac/Shane together and Artest/Wafer together. Might cut down on the iso play.
Why they weren't in the game??....Simple!.....the rockets felt that winning in New york wasn't way the team wanted to go. Also, Spike lee promised Rick Adelman 2 front row tickets to watch "Shrek on Ice' in Madison Square garden
I am not sure if I have missed it - why was Mutombo not playing in the last few games? He is supposed to back up Yao.
I think I figured it out from watching this game; Artest and McGrady don't need to play at the sametime on the court. I think Artest will actually buy into the "team" system on offense if he is surrounded by other guys doing the same thing. When TMac is stopping the ball, like usual, and Artest in the game, he tends to do the same. I say play em at seperate times, for the most part. And I'm beginning to doubt that TMac will ever play team basketball...its sad really. I've also noticed that Brooks and Landry have developed a nice chemistry with one another, and when they are in the game at the same time, good things happen. But, when Wafer is thrown in the mix with those two, it leads to a lot of mistakes and confusion.
say what you will but tracy really did go full throttle in this game, i thought he played really good it's just that his shots weren't really falling but that happens, i'm looking forward to the philly game tonight
You obviously don't watch on the defensive end. My goodness, I *can* run faster than TMac did during that game. He doesn't move in a motion offense and he doesn't give any effort on defense. He's done as a decent NBA basketball player.
